Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA)
As of January 1, 2012, Ontario’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA) applies to hospitals.
After that date members of the public have the right to access recorded information held by hospitals—including records of personal information—that came into the custody or under the control of a hospital on or after January 1, 2007. Please note: Access to one’s own records of personal health information continues to be governed by the Personal Health Information Protection Act.
As part of our commitment to transparency and accountability, Hotel Dieu Hospital continues to support the proactive disclosure of hospital information where appropriate, and we will be making a range of documents and information readily available to the public without a formal access request.
This site provides resources and information to assist you in learning more about the FIPPA, making Freedom of Information requests and accessing hospital information without going through the formal request process.
If you have questions or concerns about the new legislation or other privacy-related matters in our hospital, please contact:
Privacy Officer
Kingston General Hospital/Hotel Dieu Hospital
76 Stuart Street
Kingston, ON K7L 2V7
Phone: 613-549-6666 ext. 2567
Fax: 613-548-2445
Email: privacy@kgh.kari.net
Making a request to access information
Hotel Dieu Hospital proactively discloses a wide range of hospital documents and information.
Before submitting a formal request for information please consult our online
Public Disclosure Library to see if the material you are seeking is available without a formal request.
You can use the Hotel Dieu Hospital Request Form to:
- Ask for general records of the hospital
- Ask for personal information about yourself, and
- Ask for a correction to your personal (i.e., non health-related) information.
Under FIPPA, a Freedom of Information (FOI) request must be in writing and must provide sufficient detail to identify the information.
A $5 fee for making an FOI request is also required. Please include a cheque or money order payable to Hotel Dieu Hospital with your completed request form.
Please mail your completed Request Form and $5 cheque to:
Freedom of Information Coordinator
c/o Kingston General Hospital
76 Stuart Street
Kingston, ON K7L 2V7
If you have any questions about the request process, please contact:
Privacy Officer
Kingston General Hospital/Hotel Dieu Hospital
76 Stuart Street
Kingston, ON K7L 2V7
Phone: 613-549-6666 ext. 2567
Fax: 613-548-2445
Email: privacy@kgh.kari.net
Fees for FIPPA Requests
The hospital is permitted to charge fees in connection with responding to a Freedom of Information request. Section 57(1) of FIPPA outlines those costs incurred by the hospital that can be charged to the requester as fees, namely:
- the costs of every hour of manual search required to locate a record;
- the costs of preparing the record for disclosure;
- computer and other costs incurred in locating, retrieving, processing and copying a record;
- shipping costs; and
- any other costs incurred in responding to a request for access to a record.
| Fees for General Record Request |
| Action | Fee |
| Making an access request | $5 fee must accompany formal written request |
| Photocopies and computer printouts | $0.20 per page |
| Records provided on CD-ROMs | $10.00 for each CD-ROM |
| Manually searching a record | $7.50 for each 15 minutes spent by any person |
| Preparing a record for disclosure, including severing a part of the record | $7.50 for each 15 minutes spent by any person |
| Developing a computer program or other method of producing a record from a machine readable record | $15.00 for each 15 minutes spent by any person |
| Costs, including computer costs, incurred in locating, retrieving, processing and copying the record(s) if those costs are specified in an invoice received by the hospital | Actual costs incurred |
| Fees for a Personal Information Request
|
| Action | Fee |
| Making an access request | $5 fee must accompany formal written request |
| Photocopies and computer printouts | $0.20 per page |
Records provided on CD-ROMs | $10.00 for each CD-ROM |
Developing a computer program or other method of producing a record from a machine readable record | $15.00 for each 15 minutes spent by any person |
Costs, including computer costs, incurred in locating, retrieving, processing and copying the record(s) if those costs are specified in an invoice received by the hospital | Actual costs incurred |
